Not the fact that his mother passed away this year after a battle with cancer. Not that his father is less than halfway through a 40-year prison term. Not that he’s about 2,700 miles from his 7-month-old daughter, Sky'mariah.

No, the East Los Angeles College defensive tackle flashed his smile whenever possible during a recent practice as the sun beamed down on Weingart Stadium. The native of Chesapeake, Va. giggled when coaches jokingly questioned his punctuality, grinned at the thought of post-workout Mexican food and laughed when he was asked what he thinks of the Los Angeles area.